The wallpaper was a dark moody gray with gold stars tapering down from the ceiling. A canopy hung over the bed, gauzy and twinkling with fairy lights. Beyond the bed, a window overlooked the fenced-in backyard, which was landscaped and lush, unlike the deceptive front of the house. Beneath their feet, the cream carpet was thick and soft. So clean that Tucker reflexively kicked off his boots and nudged them out into the hallway.
Mary’s eyes were fixed on his throat expectantly, a half-smile curving her mouth.
In the glow of the fairy lights was where she belonged. They embraced her, highlighted the gloss of her lips, the fire of her hair. Turned her eyes stunningly bright and wrapped her in a lustrous welcome. Had he really touched this goddess? Kissed her?
If vampires could sweat, he would have been a human downpour about now.
“Uhh.” He stared down at his phone, as if it had transformed into a shoe horn.
There was only one singer that could capture this mood, but he couldn’t tap the screen to take them there. He’d almost succeeded in lessening the tension between them. It was coming back now in degrees, though, Mary becoming aware of it, her fingers biting into his forearm.
When he continued to hesitate to play the song, Mary walked her fingers along his arm toward the phone and traced them over the curve of his hand. Her middle fingertip tapped on the screen and the strains of Are You Lonesome Tonight? by Elvis turned the room into a honeymoon suite at some fancy hotel. And they the newlyweds.
“I’ve never heard this one,” she whispered. “Will you make me a playlist of these songs? And…any songs you like?”
Break the spell. Cut the romance bullshit out. “I’ll make you anything you want,” he blurted hoarsely. Dumbass.
Mary tilted her face up toward his, so clearly expecting to be kissed with the sound of the King crooning in the palm of his hand, the haven of the bedroom drawing them in. His hard-on was so painful at this point, he was stooped forward slightly, hips drawn back just in case she stepped a few inches closer and encountered the stiffness against her belly. As had become the constant, his throat burned for the taste of her. Yearned.
“Come on, I’ll get the bath going for you,” he rasped, pulling away from her, easing his retreat by squeezing her shoulder. “I’ll get your suitcase out of the car and leave some clothes outside the bathroom door while you’re in there. Unless…you need…do you need help?”
“No. I’ll be fine.”
Her disappointment that he hadn’t kissed her was obvious. It made his fingers bite into the palms of his hands, his chest rebelling in the face of her discontent. If things were different, if fate weren’t such a bitch, they would be in bed right now. He’d have her stripped down to nothing, his mouth between her thighs—
Christ. Time to move.
Back teeth grinding, he led Mary back down the hall to the bathroom, leaving her standing in the doorway while he knelt down and filled the modern, white porcelain bathtub, testing the water several times to make sure it was the right temperature. Then he set to work putting everything in reaching distance.
“There’s a bottle of body wash on the lip of the tub. Shampoo and conditioner. Towel.” Damn, the bathroom was small. They were on opposite sides of the room and still only separated by inches. “Do you need anything else?”
“Mmm.” She reached out, her fingers searching for something in the air. Sensing she wanted his hand, Tucker gave it to her. He watched like a beggar looking through a bakery window as she kissed his knuckles. “Thank you for everything. You already made me feel comfortable here. Everywhere, really.” A sound puffed out of her. “Even when I’m screaming.”
“I’m just happy to be that for you,” he managed, sounding like an idiot. Reluctantly, he took his hand back and slid toward the door. “Enjoy your bath.”
He really shouldn’t have hovered there in the doorway. A matter of seconds made all the difference. Because one moment Mary was fully clothed and the next, she’d stripped the dress over her head, leaving her in nothing but panties. The low-cut band of her peach-colored underwear showed off the dimples at the bottom of her spine and his tongue almost rolled out of his mouth with the need to swipe itself through those twin valleys.
The full side of her left breast, high and plump sent a lustful shudder through him.
My mate is ripe.
Tucker’s fangs ripped their way out of his gums, his hands flying up to grip the doorjamb, the wood creaking in his grip. Mary was fully aware he stood there. She knew exactly what she was doing and that made her all the more tempting.